Agenda item

To consider the report of the Head of Locality Partnerships providing an overall update on the work that the Communities Team is engaged in, based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provides opportunities to request further information on a particular issue.

The report of the Head of Locality Partnerships brought Member’s attention to an update of the work in which the Communities Team was engaged in based on priorities identified by the Community Committee. It also provided opportunities for further questioning or to request a more detailed report on a particular issue.

The Localities Officer introduced the report, and the following points were highlighted:

• The Children’s and Families Champion provided an update on recent work, outlining that the last Sub-Group meeting was held on the 10^th of January 2024 and that the Inner South Youth Summit held at the Civic Hall had been the highlight of the year and a success. The event was held on the 26^th of February 2024 at the banqueting hall and engaged with 150 people in attendance from 15 local schools across the three Wards. A YAF consultation had been run at the Summit in order to seek views on funding direction, an interactive question session had been conducted with the Lord Mayor allowing the young people to experience engagement with democracy and stakeholders and a lunch had been held at the Rose Bowl with goody bags and certificates presented.
• A message of thanks was extended to the Localities team for their work on the Summit and good feedback had been received from young people that attended and a local school governor. Members thanked the Children’s and Families Champion for their hard work in the role and on the Summit with it being the most successful so far. 
• The Environment and Community Safety Champion provided an update noting a quarterly meeting partnered with West Yorkshire Police (WYP) and the Anti-Social Behaviour Team took place, with the most recent on the 15^th of January 2024. Members were encouraged to attend future tasking meetings.
• An update from Public Heath was provided from pages 26 to 30 of the report, including winter messaging, an Employment and Skills update was detailed from pages 30 to 37 of the report, Community Engagement update on pages 37 and 38, Neighbourhood Centres Co-ordination update on pages 38 and 39 and the social media update was appended to the report, with a post regarding a leaflet drop in Hunslet and Riverside being the most engaged with.

WYP Officer, Sergeant Daniel Ryder, attended the meeting and provided the Committee with an update, outlining the following information:

• The crime statistics for Beeston and Holbeck from December 2023 were outlined:

o  Burglary residential – 16

o  Robbery – 8

o  Theft from a motor vehicle – 8

o  Theft of a motor vehicle – 5

o  Hate crimes - 17

o  Hate incidents – 8

o  Anti-social behaviour – 0

• The crime statistics for Hunslet and Riverside from December 2023 were outlined:

o  Burglary residential – 13

o  Robbery – 8

o  Theft from a motor vehicle - 20

o  Theft of a motor vehicle – 5

o  Hate crimes – 6

o  Hate incidents - 3

o  Anti-social behaviour - 6

• The crime statistics for Middleton Park from December 2023 were outlined:

o  Burglary residential – 10

o  Robbery - 4

o  Theft from a motor vehicle - 5

o  Theft of a motor vehicle - 6

o  Hate crimes - 1

o  Hate incidents - 4

o  Anti-social behaviour – 3

• Emerging data for January 2024 was provided to Members and when compared to December 2023 data it displayed a trend for reductions in the above crimes.
• Policing priorities had been developed for each Ward against the statistics with off road bike related incidents being a focus within Middleton Park with an uplift in training and resources for the Neighbourhood Policing Team to proactively deal with it.
• There was a push by WYP to improve their social media visibility within Leeds, with more posts of arrests and good Police work made. Members and local community groups were encouraged to share these posts in order to enhance the message and assist in reducing crime.
• There were more Police Officers in post across the Inner South including improvements to the Off Road Bike Team.
• Crimes within the community were encouraged to be reported to inform Police work and best practise to reduce crime.

In response to questions from Members, the following points were discussed:

• The difference between hate crimes and hate incidents was outlined as an offence being defined against the Criminal Law Act 1977 and able to be quantified as a crime. Incidents were reported but were unable to be recorded as crime against UK law, however policy for these types of offences were under review.
• Members noted annual crime statistic data would be useful to understand and track crime trends over years and assist with identifying spikes in specific crimes at different points of the year to best use Police resources.
• The decision of WYP to not use their Section 61 orders to evict a traveller encampment occupying the carpark at Middleton Woods was queried. In response it was outlined the decision was determined by a Chief Inspector, the group had been moved on from South Leeds Stadium, a site wellbeing assessment had been conducted and the significant disruption was understood, however, incidents required reporting and evictions, or prosecutions required evidence and not assumptions.
• Although there were no specific criminal incidents noted during the encampment at South Leeds Stadium, Members noted it had created disturbance and had led to events being cancelled and people changing their plans. It was reported that notification for the eviction of the encampment at Middleton Park Woods had been received just before the commencement of the Committee meeting.
• As previously raised at a tasking meeting, drug dealing around Cross Flatts Park was prolific and visible daily and affected public perception and community safety so more Police presence was encouraged. New Police Sergeants had been employed and were currently in training and Police presence and social media visibility were to assist with the issue however, high levels of Police presence were outlined to sometimes exaggerate public concerns for crime in their area.
• There were some discrepancies noted between the statistics in the report and crime data that was available online. The figures in the report were noted to be Home Office data but the issue was to be referred to the Inspector. 
• Issues of aggressive begging, particularly around shops and town centres, were ongoing and required a multi-agency approach, including the Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team (LASBT) to address community safety and intimidation.
• The role of community policing was noted to have changed and enhanced visibility physically and online were being strengthened, particularly with the good response and results from the appointment of Inspector Lund and the Community Team being at full strength.
• With recent collaborative work done with the Police and the Housing department at Dewsbury Hub, it was stressed that attention to communicating activity was necessary to improve public perception and bolster local confidence in services and reporting processes.
• The crime action week had cultivated positive results and was to be run twice a year. More of these initiatives were noted to be of integral use to tackling organised crime, however it was understood that they were resource intensive.
• The table containing Universal Credit Claimants data on page 30 of the report was limited and a further breakdown of figures was needed to understand the full scope of claimants, such as, if the individual was in or out of work.

RESOLVED – That the contents of the report, along with Members comments, be noted.